Jesuit Pilgrimage Footsteps of St. Ignatius Loyola in Spain – Early Ignatian Places

Depart from the USA aboard overnight flight(s) to Madrid. Breakfast and dinner are served aboard the transatlantic flight.

Upon arrival in Madrid, you will meet your local tour escort and transfer to your hotel located in the heart of Madrid’s historic center. Tonight you will walk through the Plaza Mayor.  Overnight in Madrid with Dinner.

This morning you will depart for Burgos, the historic capital of Old Castile. Here you will have Mass at the Santa Maria Cathedral, the burial place of Spanish Kings, and El Cid Spain’s famous hero.  He is buried in the Cathedral of Burgos, the third largest church of Spain and one of the country’s most striking for its beautiful Spanish gothic style. We stop here and then make our way to Loyola.  Here, in 1491 Saint Ignatius Loyola was born in the Castle of Loyola.  Dinner and overnight in Loyola.

In Loyola, we visit Ignatius’ former house and the museum. We include a visit to Aranzazu, a popular shrine to Our Lady at the time of Ignatius, where we know Ignatius prayed for strength to overcome the temptations to which he had formerly yielded. Here we celebrate Mass.
This afternoon, 

  dinner in Loyola.

This morning you will travel to Loyola, the birthplace of St Ignatius. See the 17th Century Basilica dedicated to St Ignatius and visit his family home which contains the place referred to as the Room of the Conversion. Continue on to Pamplona the birthplace and childhood home of St. Francis Xavier the great Evangelist of the 16th century. After the battle of Pamplona, young St. Francis Xavier was sent to the University of Paris where he would meet his roommate, Ignatius, with whom he would later co-found the Order of the Society of Jesus.

After breakfast, you will make your way to Montserrat, home to the dramatically set Benedictine monastery. On a rugged mountainside, you will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat. Since the 12th century, pilgrims have been drawn to the mountain to venerate the miraculous statue of the Black Madonna. According to Catholic tradition, the statue of the Black Virgin of Montserrat was carved by St. Luke around 50 AD and brought to Spain. It was later hidden from the Moors in a cave, where it was rediscovered by shepherds in 880 AD. They saw a bright light and heard heavenly music that eventually led them to the grotto and the statue. The Bishop of Manresa, present at the discovery, suggested that it be moved to Manresa, but the small statue was discovered to be so heavy it could not be lifted. Thus the Virgin had indicated her will to stay in Montserrat to be venerated there. In the 11th century, the abbot-bishop Oliba founded a monastery on the mountain of Montserrat next to one of the chapels, where the Benedictine Abbey is still preserved.

It is believed that the founding of the Society of Jesus by St. Ignatius of Loyola was inspired by the Black Madonna’s apparition to St. Ignatius during his pilgrimage to the Shrine of Montserrat.

Once he recovered, Ignatius set out on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to connect more deeply to Jesus in the very places where he lived, as many Catholics still do. He is said to have experienced a vision of Mary encouraging him to pilgrimage. During his pilgrimage, he shed his material items at various stops in Spain, relinquished his sword and dagger at the Montserrat Monastery, and lived in Manresa as a beggar for about a year, praying seven hours per day.

Our visit to Montserrat, meaning “serrated mountains,” may include meeting with a Benedictine monk from the monastery that has been on the mountain since the 9th century. Enjoy a morning walk followed by prayer in the Basilica. Explore this sacred site and see the “Black Madonna,” a place of pilgrimage for centuries. Then, following the morning program in Montserrat, we will take a short drive to Manresa. We may possibly have the mini retreat room booked followed by a tour of the House of Spiritual Exercises.

Montserrat: Catalonia’s  mountain of legend par excellence and declared a Natural Park, Montserrat is one of the most important spiritual centres in Europe. The monastery has a rich tradition and many treasures associated with St. James, exemplified by the magnificent Llibre Vermell de Montserrat (Red Book of Montserrat), a 14th-century manu- script that records pilgrims’ songs and rituals and which demonstrates the antiquity of the pilgrimage routes. In addition to the basilica, which houses the Romanesque image of La Moreneta, Our Lady of Montserrat, the patron saint of Catalonia, the monas- tery is home to the Escolania, one of the oldest boys’ choirs in Europe. Montserrat Museum is also of interest and contains works by great artists such as Caravaggio, El Greco, Rusiñol, Cases, Picasso and Dalí. Montserrat was in the past and is still today a necessary stopping place for Ignatian pilgrims passing through Catalonia.

Return to Barcelona for dinner and overnight.

This morning you will travel to Manresa, a place of profound conversion for Ignatius.  and visit the Cave of Saint Ignatius where the saint retired to meditate and write his Spiritual Exercises. You will see the Chapel of the Rapture where St. Ignatius remained motionless in ecstasy for eight days and visit the Basilica of la Seu, the large Gothic Church that has come to symbolize Manresa.

We enjoy an audiovisual presentation and a tour of the museum at Manresa. We celebrate mass at the Basilica.   We will tour the cave on the banks of the Cardoner River where St. Ignatius spent a lot of time praying and received a vision that provided him with deep insights into the spiritual life and altered the course of his own life. From the initial insights he received here, Ignatius went on to compose the “Spiritual Exercises.” Ignatius remained in Manresa for about a year and a half before continuing his journey to Barcelona. After lunch at a local restaurant, we follow Ignatius’ path to Barcelona with dinner on our own. (B, L)

n Manresa(1:28)

Overnight in Barcelona.

This morning we will depart for Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. This afternoon we will enjoy a tour of Barcelona including panoramic views of the Harbor area, Montjuic, Plaza de España, and Plaza de Catalunya. Continue on a guided walk through the Gothic Quarter to visit the cathedral and view Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, a beautiful, unfinished Roman Catholic basilica of impressive proportions. Dinner and overnight near Las Ramblas in Barcelona.

Today you will enjoy breakfast with your fellow pilgrims and bid adios to Spain! Transfer to the airport for your return flights home.